Aloes are very popular and some of the most rewarding plants to cultivate. They make excellent accent plants owing to their often strange and inspiring architectures, as well as the bright flowers that offset the grey-green leaves. They are also very suitable as container plants and small aloes can be used very effectively as border plants at the edge of a bed. Although aloes are most often included in rockeries, their application in horticulture is not limited to this feature and they can be used in almost any setting and in conjunction with most common garden plants. Their natural adaptation to harsh and often arid climates makes aloes outstanding subjects for the water-wise garden. Aloe is a genus in the Asphodeloideae family containing about 600 species of flowering succulent plants. Aloes are sometimes confused with Agaves. Contrarily to Agaves, Aloe leaves contain a gel like sap. Another difference is that Aloes don’t die after blooming as most Agaves do.

Aloe alooides commonly known as Graskop Aloe is a South African endemic species. It is a single-stemmed Aloe growing to 2 meters tall. Its broad long leaves are green to reddish green, curving down significantly so that their tips nearly touch the stem. The leaf margins have small spines on their edges. Its flowers grow as long yellow snake-like inflorescences. Aloe alooides is distinguished by its long recurved and nearly thornless leaves. It comes from a very restricted habitat in the mountains of Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, growing from 1200-1800 meters in altitude, in shallow soil on dolomite ridges. It can tolerate mild frost, and benefits from well-drained soil. It can be a spectacular garden plant.